After Today
by MiKiMa
Summary: Layra and Ayu meet each other again at the aquarium and he's still the quiet little boy hiding behind his bear, wondering why this happy little girl is so interested in him.


Hey guys, my name's Kimi! I hope you enjoy this story and let me know what you think! I don't own anything from Arc V (unfortunately)

* * *

_**After Today**_

It would be surprising, but Layra wasn't quite as gloomy as he appeared. He was just… quiet. Part of it came from having a genius older brother and a very forceful mother, but some of it probably came from practically _never_ spending time with other children his age.

After all, it wasn't as if they would have anything to talk about…

"Ah!" Layra hadn't bothered to look, assuming the sound was being aimed at the dolphins swimming in front of him. Instead, he just hugged his bear closer, eyeing the dolphins closely. Why did they need to swim together like that? What if that dolphin just wanted to be left alone where it was quiet and…

"Hey!" Layra nearly recoiled when the girl grabbed onto his arm, choosing instead to blink and hold the bear up to his face. "You're Layra, right?"

How did this girl know him? Did she know Nii-san? She looked younger than the other stalkers…

"I dueled you… in the Junior Youth Championship! Remember?" The girl looked so happy. Why? She _lost_ that duel, Layra remembered that. She'd _cried_, though he only thought about that after.

Still… she'd _lost_. And yet she still had people that were by her side.

If he'd lost… would Nii-san have helped him?

"Hey! You alright?" The girl was right in his face, her smile a little worried now. Layra didn't really believe she –what was her name anyway- would be so worried about him. She probably didn't like the quiet, but he had nothing to say to her, just lifting the bear again.

"Huh? Your bear?" The girl blinked, quiet for a short moment before her grin returned. "He's cute! What's his name?"

His… name? Of course, the bear had one… why wouldn't he? But this girl didn't need to know! It wasn't…

"Ayu!"

"Huh? Oh! I completely forgot about my parents! I'll see you? I'll see you later!"

Layra could only watch as the girl ran off, blinking a few times before shaking his head, heading back towards the exit. "Weird girl…"

()~~()~~()~~()~~()

A few days later, Layra was taking a walk through the park, glad to be out of the house. Without Nii-san, it was almost suffocating and sometimes, not even his bear could help keep him calm.

At least he wasn't always followed like when Nii-san was noticed outside. Honestly though, Layra was perfectly happy not to be noticed in that way, especially on a daily basis. His anonymity made these escapes much easier.

"…Watch out!" There was only a second to prepare before someone barreled into his back hard enough to knock him over.

That one second had been used to hold his bear more tightly and start turning towards the speaker.

"Ouch… I'm sorry! I was… oh hi!" It was the Weird Girl again. What was she doing, sprinting through the park like that? There was plenty of room, yes, but if you were going to run around into people like that… oh, she was talking again.

"Why didn't you move? I did call out to warn you! You're not hurt, are you?" Oh, so this was _his_ fault for not moving fast enough now? It wasn't his fault that she didn't watch were she was going!

His response didn't come, and now the Weird Girl was frowning at him. What was he supposed to say? What would Nii-san say? Actually, that might not…

"Ah! We have to hide!" While Layra contemplated speech, Weird Girl –he'd really have to remember her name sometime- ended up grabbing his hand and dragging him behind a bush, one finger to her lips. "Shh…"

As if _quiet_ was ever a problem for him.

"That's weird… I thought I heard Ayu over here…" Wasn't that boy the one who tried to talk to him after Layra dueled the Weird Girl? Layra thought Weird Girl was friends with that boy… so why was she hiding?

There was a long moment of silence the Weird Girl biting her lip as she peeked through the bush for the other boy before she started giggling. Giggling! What was with girls and giggling?

"Why…" Layra cut himself off before he actually asked about the giggling. He never talked to these random people!

The girl blinked before her grin grew even more. "We're all playing Hide-and-Seek! WE even got Yuya away from practicing! Not like that's hard, but still…"

Hide-and-Seek? Didn't only little kids play that game? Why would all those people do that now, instead of something useful? All too often, Layra forgot he was the same age as the girl… Name! He still needed to figure out her name!

Before he could figure out the best way to ask about it, Weird Girl just kept talking. "You should join us! I'll show you the best hiding places too! It'll be fun!"

Fun? No. That sounded horrible. It sounded like forced socialization with strangers. Layra tightened his grip on his bear like the lifeline it was, sure his eyes were wider than normal.

"Oh right!" Did she not see his discomfort at all? Or was it just amusing to her to watch her squirm? "You never did tell me his name!"

The girl tapped his bear on the head gently, that smile still on her face. "HE's so cute! My dad bought me a teddy bear, but he's really fluffy and the bow is really weird… but Dad says it's cute next to me? It's a little weird…"

Obviously, that trait ran in the family, though he doubted she would appreciate that observation. Did she really want an answer or did she just want to hear herself talk?

Wait, she stopped talking. Was she supposed to answer now? But he didn't want to, even if she was starting to look annoyed at him. Why should it matter anyway? It was his bear, and its name was certainly none of her business!

"Ayu! I found Yuya, he's it! So wherever…"

"You found Yuya?" The girl –was it Ayu? - jumped out of their hiding place, dragging Layra with her. "We need to find a better place then! Yuya's the best seeker ever!"

This last part was addressed to Layra, who shared a confused look with the other boy.

"Uh… Ayu? Isn't that…"

"Layra's playing with us now!" When had that been decided anyway? Layra had certainly never agreed to that, but by the way Ayu was dragging him around, Layra didn't think he had much choice in the matter.

Forced through a few rounds, getting to know more than he ever wanted to know about them, Layra saw they weren't all that bad. They actually seemed like rather nice people. But he didn't want to be there anyway, even if they had been saints to begin with! Still… it was different, being part of a group.

Weird though.

So when it came time, and Ayu _finally_ let him go off to hide on his own, Layra proved that he could get away and be the best hider of them all.

Because he just left the park and went home.

()~~()~~()~~()~~()

"Cheater!" Layra blinked as he turned around, bear in his arms, finding himself facing an angry Ayu. "You don't just leave Hide-and-Seek like that!"

But he hadn't wanted to play that game in the first place! It wasn't his fault at all!

Unconsciously, the bear rose to hide his face, but it did nothing to calm the irate Ayu. "We were looking for you for hours! We thought something bad had happened to you!"

Layra risked a peek, tilting his head a little at Ayu's continuous frown. Had they been worried about him? But why? It wasn't as if they really knew him at all, so why would they be concerned about him at all?

"Well?" The silence wasn't working with her if the stomp was anything to go by. "Do you anything to say to me?"

_Sorry?_ Was that the proper response? He was relatively sure shaking his head was a bad idea, but surprisingly, Ayu didn't yell at him. She blinked a few times, the frown turning into a very confused pout.

"Do you ever talk?"

Of course he did… with Nii-san. Most of the time. Sometimes. When there was something important to say.

Still the girl was expecting a response of some kind, so Layra just shrugged. The gesture seemed to fit after all.

The girl really was weird, hopping from emotion to emotion. It must be exhausting that way, going from angry to confused to sad or something else… why was she grabbing his arm now?

"Because you made us all worried –me too- you can take me to see the dolphins again!" The words were accompanied by a nod on her part, obviously not giving Layra any chance at all… again.

Was that all she wanted in the end? A trip to the dolphins? That was simple enough… the aquarium wasn't the worst thing in the world.

"Ah! Look over there Layra! I didn't know there was a show going on today! Let's go see it!"

No. That meant a lot of people and noise and…

He had no chance, not with Ayu dragging him.

Surrounded by people, most of them screaming toddlers, Layra clung to his bear as tightly as he could, just waiting to be released. Why were there so many people? There were just dolphins, jumping and splashing on demand! It was a little cool, yes, but not like this!'

"…a volunteer?" Worst words ever. Because without fail, they would be followed by…

"How about you, with the bear?"

It never fails. He was beginning to wonder if perhaps people did recognize him and wanted an Akaba in the spotlight.

"Layra, go! It'll be fun!" So why didn't she do it? If she thought it would be so… wait. That was an idea!

Layra stood, grabbed Ayu –for the first time- and delivered her to the front. There was only a moment of stunned silence before glee lit up her face, her enthusiasm painfully obvious. It didn't take any time at all for the attendants to adjust to the change.

That was his chance. She would never him leave, not as she quite literally swam with dolphins.

And yet… still he stayed, hiding his face with the bear as Ayu turned to beam in his direction and wave.

He was still standing there when Ayu, wrapped in a towel and holding a bundle of dry clothes bounced over cheerfully. "Thank you! That was so much fun; you should have done it, not me!"

Layra shrugged, ducking his head shyly to avoid looking at her. No one had ever been so happy with something he'd done before…

Her delighted laugh made him glance up as Ayu addressed his bear instead. "I need to know your name bear, so I can talk to you! Layra's hiding!"

The words didn't sound like she meant it in a bad way at all, so Layra looked up even more as Ayu stared beaming at him. "Really, you… oh no!"

He blinked at Ayu's suddenly panicked face, glancing over shoulder for something bad. "If I don't get home, my parents will start to worry about me! I didn't even realize it was getting so late!"

Ayu sprinted off before Layra could think of anything to say, leaving him… disappointed? Why? He'd been trying to escape from her just an hour earlier…

He was about to walk away –there was nothing left for him to do now- when another small body collided into him, arms wrapping around him for a tight hug.

"Thanks again!" Ayu's grin met a confused blink as she giggled and bounced a little in place. "We'll do this again, right?"

The nod happened before Layra could stop it and Ayu grabbed another hug before retreating a little. "Okay! It's a promise, so don't try hiding from me next time! See you later!"

She was gone again, but this time, the disappointment wasn't there at all.

Even stranger… he almost felt like _smiling_ even though Ayu's hug had left his clothes a little damp and he wasn't overly fond of physical contact to begin with.

()~~()~~()~~()~~()

"Nii-san?" It was rare for Layra to initiate conversation, but something had been bothering him for a while now. He wouldn't normally ask Nii-san about something that seemed so trivial, but this wasn't really something Layra could figure out on his own after all.

"Hmm? What is it Layra?" Despite Reiji sounding completely supportive and helpful, the words just couldn't come out. After all, how could he ask this question so it made some sense?

_So, what do you do if some girl bothers you and forces you into 'hanging out' and when you kind of enjoy it, she disappears?_

Because that would make perfect sense after all. Or how about…

_Nii-san. Can you explain girls to me?_

Yes, that would work, if he wanted to know about obsessive stalkers.

Except Ayu wasn't a stalker at all, and somehow Layra doubted even Reiji-nii-san could explain her. That would take a whole new level of genius to decipher, a level Layra wasn't sure anyone could reach.

"…I'm going outside."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Layra knew his brother rarely went outside, always busy with other things, and the offer was a nice one. Still, he shook his head instead, clutching the bear with one hand tightly.

He was fine. He was just going for a walk; he wasn't going to look at the aquarium, or the park, or even You Show Duel School.

"Layra?"

Coincidence! He hadn't purposely shown up in front of the Duel School; Layra got… lost! That's right! He was just lost in a city he knew like the back of his hand!

Telling himself he wasn't nervous, Layra turned to see Ayu, and her two friends, behind her. Did those other two have names? He couldn't remember…

"What are you… achoo!" Ayu had a tissue in hand, sniffling a little as she smiled. "What's up?"

Was she sick? That wasn't good! She should be in bed, resting! That was the best thing for sick people, right?

He might have said something –anything- but then Ayu sneezed again and the boys ushered her inside the school, presumably where it was warm.

"Wait! Layra you –achoo- too!" Ayu managed to grab his sleeve and drag him along with her, though how she managed it was a mystery.

Besides, Layra wouldn't admit it, but it didn't take much dragging.

"She we have let…"

"I want him here! He can talk to me while you… you… achoo!" Sick Ayu leaned towards being snappy and sneezy? Interesting…

The boys recoiled while Layra watched, the bigger one even shivering before running off.

"Angry Ayu gives me shivers! SHIVERS!"

Blinking, Layra stood and watched Ayu silently until she patted the couch impatiently. "You can sit down! It's okay!"

He obeyed, shifting slightly so that his bear was sitting on his lap facing Ayu. They were so different… was that why it was hard to ignore her? They had nothing in common… so would she get bored with him after a time?

"You brought him! You must really love that bear!" Ayu's eyes lit up, a stark contrast to pale cheeks and a red nose. "You know…"

A few more sneezes escaped before she grinned back at him. "You never did tell me his name!"

Strangely, he wouldn't mind her knowing anymore. But… what if she laughed? What if she thought he was weird? Layra didn't want that!

Instead, he shook his head, hiding a little behind the bears head. "You're sick. You should sleep."

"…You talked! I can't sleep now!" Ayu stared for a moment before grabbing onto his sleeve with a laugh. "Come on, say something!"

Embarrassed, Layra hid completely behind the bear, trying to ignore Ayu's giggling. _I shouldn't have said anything…_

"I'm sorry! If I promise to rest, will you say something to me?"

Layra hesitated but nodded slowly, earning himself a bright grin.

"Okay, I promise to rest!" Ayu promised, waiting expectantly while blinking at him innocently.

What to say? It shouldn't be this hard! _What would a normal person say about that?_ "…Something?"

Immediately after, Layra flinched behind his bear, waiting for the glare. Instead, he was surprised by Ayu _laughing_ easily at the response.

"Well, I did ask for 'something'…" The laughs turned into a sleepy sigh as Ayu rested her head on his shoulder, making him freeze in place. "Don't move."

_Am I a pillow now? Why is she…_

"Oh right! My birthday party's next Saturday! You should come!

It took a very long moment for the words to register in his head. "You… really want me to?"

"Of course!" Ayu grinned a little, shifting a little to get more comfortable against his shoulder. "I wouldn't have asked if not! So, will you?"

It didn't register that he nodded, but Layra was _happy_ to have been invited. And while he wasn't totally comfortable, it was worth it… even when Ayu sneezed on him.

()~~()~~()~~()~~()

_It looks alright, doesn't it? I've never wrapped a present before… but it looks cute, right? Cute is good for girls, isn't it? And Ayu should like it! But what if she doesn't? What if she hates it? Worse, what if she laughs?_

Layra should have been inside a while ago, but instead, he was pacing outside the Duel School, trying to get the courage to go inside. Sure, Ayu liked him well enough, but what about the rest of them? He never really spoke to them, and what if they hated him?

What if she just made everything awkward and made Ayu's birthday horrible? What if she hated him for it?  
What if…

"Layra? What are you doing out here?" Despite managing to look calm, Layra nearly jumped out of his skin hearing Ayu coming out of the School. "Yuzu-neechan told me someone was walking around out here! So, were you hiding out here this whole time? The party's almost over!"

Had it been that long? Was she mad at him? That would be absolutely horrible! Now was the time to say sorry, wasn't it? "I…"

"Come on! You need some cake!" He didn't even get the chance to say anything when Ayu dragged him inside, trying to understand why she wasn't angry that he was so late. "Guys! I found Layra! Let's get him some cake!"

Cake was shoved towards him, though they forgot a fork, while a few greetings and more than a few pushes to get him to look around the school came his way. By the time Layra got a moment to breathe, everyone was beginning to pile out, and he still had a package in his hands to give away.

Ayu had almost nearly escaped as well, and he just barely caught her sleeve and tugged, holding out the present with his other hand.

"Is that for me?" Layra nodded slowly, hiding behind his bear, more embarrassed and nervous than he could believe. Ayu, however, looked like she had just won the lottery. "Can I open it?"

When he nodded, Ayu tore through the paper with a delighted squeal. The fluffy dolphin practically begged to be hugged, the pink bow hand-tied to perfection. "For me?"

She had already asked that, but Layra nodded again, earning himself a wide grin. "I love it! And now we can match! We both have animals!"

Ayu held up the dolphin in a perfect example of Layra with his bear. "See?"

It was… cute, the way she did that, but that thought only made him duck his head in absolute embarrassment.

"He needs a name though… I know! Layra!" Ayu looked so proud of herself while Layra waited for her to continue.

"…What?" He had to prompt her, but Ayu's proud grin only grew even more.

"His name! I'll name him Layra! Because you let me swim with dolphins and got him for me, and we're friends!"

The term made him blink, though there was a small smile beginning to appear on Layra's face. "…We are?"

"Of course we are, silly! That's…" A honk came from outside and Ayu grinned. "Oh, my parents… I'll see you later?"

And once again, he had no chance to say anything before he got wrapped up in another tight hug.

"It really was nice seeing you! Next time, you have to tell me your bear's name, okay?" Ayu ran off towards her car, waving cheerfully as she laughed at something her parents said to her.

Alone, Layra hugged his bear tightly, a tiny smile on his face as he looked out the door. _Next time…_

That meant they really would meet again. It was a plan. It was a promise, and they were _friends_.

And really? That might have been the best part.

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Hey guys, thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you thought!


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